She grabbed the day’s paper and unrolled it with shaking hands. The headline read:
CHILDREN RETURNED SAFELY TO THEIR PARENTS
ABA, Nigeria (AFP)—A three-year-old girl and a twoyear-old boy, believed to be the children recently kidnapped by ritual killer Black Hat Otokoto, have been safely returned to their parents. They were found wandering the streets by two young men during yesterday’s storms. The two men declined to give their names.
“They were angels sent from God,” the mother of the boy said. “If you are out there and reading this, know that you have saved my life as you have saved my son’s, and I am eternally thankful.” The parents of the girl declined an interview, but were also deeply thankful and relieved.
Further down the page was a photo of Black Hat’s gas station. And that headline read:
GAS STATION GOES UP IN FLAMES
AFTER BEING STRUCK TWICE
BY LIGHTNING
Epilogue
Sunny sat down for her first class after the rains. She felt odd. She glanced over and met Orlu’s eyes. They smiled at each other, as if sharing a joke. Once the teacher started talking, Sunny was surprised that she was still interested in learning normal things like algebra, literature, and biology. She could still concentrate.
During lunch, Orlu told her that Anatov would let Chichi know when they’d next meet. “He’ll probably give us two or three weeks to recuperate,” he said. “But we’ll each also be meeting with our mentors on our own time, I guess.”
“I think I have my work cut out for me,” Sunny said.
“With Sugar Cream as a mentor, there’s no doubt about that,” he said, laughing. “Oh, did Chichi tell you? She and Sasha are going to prepare to pass the second level.”
“I thought you had to be sixteen or seventeen for that.”
“Well, who knows how old Chichi is? Sasha’s early, but after what they just went through, he might as well have gained two years.”
She nodded.
“And you don’t always have to be that age,” he said. “It’s just recommended. But if you don’t pass, you suffer terrible consequences, so you see the logic in waiting?”
“Yeah,” she said. “So you don’t think you’re ready?”
Orlu shrugged.
“You’re afraid to fail?”
“What about you? How many of them can say they faced Ekwensu and lived? Not even the scholars can say that. And you have friends in the wilderness.”
“Oh, please, I don’t even remember what the second level is called.”
“Mbawkwa,” Orlu said as the bell rang.
“Feels weird, doesn’t it?” she said to Orlu as they walked back in.
“You’ll get used to it,” he said. “Having two lives is better than none.”
“True.” And she laughed.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to my editor, Sharyn November, for daring to taste pepper soup (literally and metaphorically). To my mother for telling me about tungwas and my father for showing me how masquerades dance. To my sisters Ifeoma and Ngozi for finding the title of this novel hilarious. To my brother Emezie for exposing me to pro wrestling and naming my character Miknikstic. To my daughter Anyaugo, nephew Dika, and niece Obi-Wan, who are constant reminders that the meaning of this novel’s title runs deep. To Tobias Buckell and Uche Ogbuji for the much-needed help with the soccer/football terminology. And lastly, to Naija for being Naija. One love.
NNEDI OKORAFOR
was born in the United States to two Igbo (Nigerian) parents. She writes for readers of all ages. Her first novel, Zahrah the Windseeker, won the 2008 Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature and was a finalist for the Parallax Award and the Kindred Award; her second, The Shadow Speaker, was a Book Sense Pick, winner of the Parallax Award, and a finalist for the NAACP Image Award, the Essence Magazine Literary Award, and the Golden Duck Award, as well as a James Tiptree, Jr. Honor Book. Her most recent novel, and her first for adults, is Who Fears Death.
Nnedi Okorafor is a professor of creative writing at Chicago State University and lives in Illinois with her daughter Anyaugo.
Her Web site is www.nnedi.com.
Books by Nuedi Okorafor
Zahrah the Windseeker
The Shadow Speaker
Long Juju Man
Who Fears Death
Akata Witch
Akata Witch: A Novel Page 24
